If you read this or many other blog sites, have email or Facebook, or surf the web on a regular basis, you have probably questioned yourself if you’ve been on the internet too much, if you truly need it in your life, if your life would be better without it, or if too much internet is the key to all of your problems.

This is an interesting article by a man who was a heavy internet user. He disconnected from the internet for a year and got paid by his employer to write about it. What I found intriguing was that he concluded that the internet itself was not the cause of his problems. He realized that he could make wise or unwise use of his time with or without the internet.

Each of us has to find that balance in our own way; how to use our time wisely whether we are wired to the world, or unplugged. For me, I realize that I have always been a reader. If I am in a grocery line I am grabbing magazines. If I am waiting at the doctor’s office, I either have a book or read magazines. If I am at your house visiting and you go do something for five minutes I will probably find something to read. The internet and my smartphone allow me to read like I always have – just using a different medium.

There are times I deliberately leave my phone at home if Sharon and I go out, knowing that our kids can reach us on her phone. There are times I go for a walk and look at my phone very little. I am finding more and more times when I my put my phone on silent, not just vibrate, at night so that I don’t hear every ding from incoming texts and e mails so that I get a break from it.

What insights has this article sparked in you about how to wisely manage your internet and non-internet life? What steps have you taken to keep your internet use in balance with the rest of your life?